The Hibs hero has helped seal a deal for another club in the Premiership.
Falkirk manager John McGlynn says his side were able to make a deadline day move for an Aston Villa prospect largely thanks to a Hibs hero.
John McGinn is fondly remembered at Easter Road for helping win the Scottish Cup and Championship before heading for Birmingham, where he is now Aston Villa captain and a Scotland national team hero. One of his two brothers is now a coach at Falkirk, former Hibs player Stephen, and the youngest McGinn dropped some Villans intel into Falkirk over midfielder Ben Broggio.
He has now signed a loan to the end of the season at Falkirk, who face Livingston on Wednesday night in the Premiership. McGlynn’s side defeated Hibs 4-1 last month and sitting sixth, they are three points off David Gray’s side above them. He hopes signing’s like Broggio can help spark a battle for Europe with Hibs.
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Who have Falkirk signed from Aston Villa?
McGlynn said: "John said to Stephen there was a lad we should take a look at. We did, and Ben looked a right good player in the games we watched. John wouldn't recommend him if he didn't think he was a quality player with the right attitude. That inside info, which takes you in behind the scenes, that due diligence, can help out in these situations.
"We're getting recognition for our style of play that's big for teams loaning their players. We have some good contacts in England and it's nice when they are phoning you recommending players. He's one who definitely needs to get out of U21s football. Ben is just coasting through games at that level.
"You can see the ability, his awareness, and touch. You can just tell quality players. It's a good standard, but it's different coming up here and playing top level in Scotland. It's quicker and more physical. Sometimes they can get caught out from that transition.
Why has Aston Villa player moved to Falkirk?
"Ben certainly needs to be playing first-team football, and he will definitely be involved in some capacity against Livingston. It's important we concentrate on ourselves instead of getting caught up in Livingston. We've got a sense of the top six and we need to win the next game, no matter who it is against.
"We're in a good place. We're still within striking distance of Hibs, the team above us. Win this one and it could get very interesting."
McGlynn added when unveiling Broggio: “Ben is an attacking midfield player who naturally operates off the left, coming inside on his right foot. He’s been training regularly with Aston Villa’s first team and comes highly recommended. Once we started looking at him, you could see the class he has. There’s a lot of talent there and we feel this move could be very good for us, and hopefully we can give him a platform to show the quality he’s got. It’s a loan deal until the end of the season that should suit everyone. With Ben Parkinson out injured for some time and only Louie Marsh available from our recent additions, I felt we still needed to strengthen in the attacking area, and that’s exactly what Ben gives us. I would like to thank Adam Henshall and Tony Carss from Aston Villa for their assistance in making this deal happen.”
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